Cursor indicator for overlay input applications

ABSTRACT

One embodiment a method, including: providing, on an input and display device, an overlay handwriting input application that provides handwriting input to an underlying application; and providing, on the input and display device, a cursor initiated by the overlay handwriting application that represents an input location within at least one input field of the underlying application. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

BACKGROUND

Information handling devices (“devices”), for example cell phones, smartphones, tablet devices, laptop computers, and the like permit users toinput handwriting using a finger or pen/stylus. This allows users towrite more naturally and without the use of a keyboard.

Conventionally a handwriting field, box or pane is presented to the useras an overlay, e.g., a rectangle in a lower portion of a touch screendisplay. In this area the user may provide input handwriting strokes,e.g., letters, numbers, characters, symbols, etc. The device employssoftware that uses the input handwriting strokes, which are generallypresented on screen to provide visual feedback to the user, as input byconverting the handwriting stroke input locations on the touch screeninto machine text according to the language setting of the device.Alternatively, a graphic or image of unconverted handwriting input maybe placed into an underlying application, e.g., an image of the user'ssignature.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In summary, a method, comprising: providing, on an input and displaydevice, an overlay handwriting input application that provideshandwriting input to an underlying application; and providing, on theinput and display device, a cursor initiated by the overlay handwritingapplication that represents an input location within at least one inputfield of the underlying application.

Another aspect provides an electronic device, comprising: an input anddisplay device; a processor; a memory that stores instructionsexecutable by the processor to: provide, on the input and displaydevice, an overlay handwriting input application that provideshandwriting input to an underlying application; and provide, on theinput and display device, a cursor initiated by the overlay handwritingapplication that represents an input location within at least one inputfield of the underlying application.

A further aspect provides a product, comprising: a storage device havingcode stored therewith, the code being executable by a processor andcomprising: code that provides, on an input and display device, anoverlay handwriting input application that provides handwriting input toan underlying application; and code that provides, on the input anddisplay device, a cursor initiated by the overlay handwritingapplication that represents an input location within at least one inputfield of the underlying application.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications,generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is notintended to be in any way limiting.

For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other andfurther features and advantages thereof, reference is made to thefollowing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of information handling device circuitry.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of information handling devicecircuitry.

FIG. 3(A-B) illustrates examples of unfocused input fields andindicating cursor locations thereof.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method of providing a cursor indicator inconnection with use of an overlay input application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations inaddition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following moredetailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in thefigures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, asclaimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are provided to give athorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant artwill recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practicedwithout one or more of the specific details, or with other methods,components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well knownstructures, materials, or operations are not shown or described indetail to avoid obfuscation.

In an underlying application (e.g., fillable web browser form, emailapplication, fillable portable document format (PDF) document, etc.) acursor position in an active text field will be shown (displayed) suchthat the user is apprised of the location into which new text orimage/graphic input will be inserted. However, when the underlying fieldis not active or is not focused (e.g., touched, clicked on, etc.) theunderlying application does not display the cursor location for theunfocused field(s). This is based on the assumption that the user willnot need to know the cursor location when the field is not active or isunfocused, as field activation is required to provide native input.

However, in overlay applications, e.g., an overlay application thataccepts handwriting input and converts the ink strokes to machine input(machine text for typeset) or inserts an image or graphic of the inkstrokes for an underlying application, field activation may occur postinput. That is, a user may choose to enter handwriting into the overlayapplication prior to selecting or activating the particular input fieldin question. While the user may always activate the input field prior toproviding the handwriting input, this is sometimes inconvenient and inany event may be difficult for the user to remember each time.

Moreover, even when the input field of the underlying application isactive, it is possible to inadvertently change the cursor position,e.g., by inadvertent contact with a touch screen. This inadvertentchange to the underlying cursor position occurs more frequently in theoverlay application context.

Accordingly, an embodiment provides an input field overlay to anunderlying application's input field where, when the overlay input fieldreceives handwriting stroke input (e.g., pen or finger input), anembodiment calls a native API to determine where the cursor is withinthe associated underlying field. Although the field of the underlyingapplication may be unfocused (not activated) and thus the application'scursor is not actively displayed when the ink strokes are received bythe input field overlay application, the cursor position is stored bythe underlying application and may be retrieved by an embodiment.

Using the cursor position data, an embodiment displays an overlay cursorthat indicates to the user where the handwriting strokes will beinserted within existing typeset text. The overlay cursor may bedisplayed or provided in a variety of ways. For example, the overlaycursor may only appear for inactive/unfocused text fields. The overlaycursor may appear continuously (all the time) for only the active textfield, or the overlay cursor may only appear for a text field where theuser is actively writing. Additionally, the overlay cursor may appearall the time for all text fields. The overlay cursor also may onlyappear for text fields with existing typeset text in them since theproblem is lesser if there is no text in the field (i.e., there is onlyone possible location for handwriting stroke input insertion). A usermay configure when and how many overlay cursor(s) are to be displayed byor in connection with the overlay application.

Note that the exact appearance of the overlay cursor may vary. Forexample, an overlay cursor may be displayed as identical to the standardbuilt-in cursor of the underlying application, but drawn by the overlayapplication, e.g., in alternative (inactive) fields. In this case, theuser may not know that the overlay application is providing the overlaycursor, as there is no visual difference. Alternatively, an overlaycursor may be displayed that appears as intentionally different ordistinguishable from the standard built-in cursor of the underlyingapplication. This different appearance indicates to a user that theoverlay cursor is being presented by the overlay application and not theunderlying application. A combination of the foregoing may be utilized,e.g., at the same time visually different overlay cursors may bedisplayed. The appearance of the overlay cursor may be, for example, acolored bar, larger or smaller than the standard cursor of theunderlying application, etc.

In an embodiment, the overlay application animates the overlay cursor orcursors. However, in an embodiment, a modified text field control may beused to force the display of the built in cursor of the underlyingapplication as the overlay cursor. In other words, an embodiment mayforce the underlying application to present its cursor even when theunderlying field is not active or focused. This may require modificationof the built-in text field of the underlying application. For example,the text field control of the underlying application may be modified sothat it always displays the cursor even when the field is unfocused. Or,the text field control may show the cursor when it is receivingassociated ink input even if it were previously unfocused (assuming peninput is supported by the underlying application's text field).

The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by referenceto the figures. The following description is intended only by way ofexample, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.

While various other circuits, circuitry or components may be utilized ininformation handling devices, with regard to smart phone and/or tabletcircuitry 100, an example illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a system on achip design found for example in tablet or other mobile computingplatforms. Software and processor(s) are combined in a single chip 110.Processors comprise internal arithmetic units, registers, cache memory,busses, I/O ports, etc., as is well known in the art. Internal bussesand the like depend on different vendors, but essentially all theperipheral devices (120) may attach to a single chip 110. The circuitry100 combines the processor, memory control, and I/O controller hub allinto a single chip 110. Also, systems 100 of this type do not typicallyuse SATA or PCI or LPC. Common interfaces, for example, include SDIO andI2C.

There are power management chip(s) 130, e.g., a battery management unit,BMU, which manage power as supplied, for example, via a rechargeablebattery 140, which may be recharged by a connection to a power source(not shown). In at least one design, a single chip, such as 110, is usedto supply BIOS like functionality and DRAM memory.

System 100 typically includes one or more of a WWAN transceiver 150 anda WLAN transceiver 160 for connecting to various networks, such astelecommunications networks and wireless Internet devices, e.g., accesspoints. Additional devices 120 are commonly included, e.g., a camera,short range wireless devices, a microphone, etc. System 100 oftenincludes a touch screen 170 for data input and display/rendering. System100 also typically includes various memory devices, for example flashmemory 180 and SDRAM 190.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of another example of informationhandling device circuits, circuitry or components. The example depictedin FIG. 2 may correspond to computing systems such as the THINKPADseries of personal computers sold by Lenovo (US) Inc. of Morrisville,N.C., or other devices. As is apparent from the description herein,embodiments may include other features or only some of the features ofthe example illustrated in FIG. 2.

The example of FIG. 2 includes a so-called chipset 210 (a group ofintegrated circuits, or chips, that work together, chipsets) with anarchitecture that may vary depending on manufacturer (for example,INTEL, AMD, ARM, etc.). INTEL is a registered trademark of IntelCorporation in the United States and other countries. AMD is aregistered trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. in the UnitedStates and other countries. ARM is an unregistered trademark of ARMHoldings plc in the United States and other countries. The architectureof the chipset 210 includes a core and memory control group 220 and anI/O controller hub 250 that exchanges information (for example, data,signals, commands, etc.) via a direct management interface (DMI) 242 ora link controller 244. In FIG. 2, the DMI 242 is a chip-to-chipinterface (sometimes referred to as being a link between a “northbridge”and a “southbridge”). The core and memory control group 220 include oneor more processors 222 (for example, single or multi-core) and a memorycontroller hub 226 that exchange information via a front side bus (FSB)224; noting that components of the group 220 may be integrated in a chipthat supplants the conventional “northbridge” style architecture. One ormore processors 222 comprise internal arithmetic units, registers, cachememory, busses, I/O ports, etc., as is well known in the art.

In FIG. 2, the memory controller hub 226 interfaces with memory 240 (forexample, to provide support for a type of RAM that may be referred to as“system memory” or “memory”). The memory controller hub 226 furtherincludes a low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface 232 for adisplay device 292 (for example, a CRT, a flat panel, touch screen,etc.). A block 238 includes some technologies that may be supported viathe LVDS interface 232 (for example, serial digital video, HDMI/DVI,display port). The memory controller hub 226 also includes a PCI-expressinterface (PCI-E) 234 that may support discrete graphics 236.

In FIG. 2, the I/O hub controller 250 includes a SATA interface 251 (forexample, for HDDs, SDDs, etc., 280), a PCI-E interface 252 (for example,for wireless connections 282), a USB interface 253 (for example, fordevices 284 such as a digitizer, keyboard, mice, cameras, phones,microphones, storage, biometric input/security devices, other connecteddevices, etc.), a network interface 254 (for example, LAN), a GPIOinterface 255, a LPC interface 270 (for ASICs 271, a TPM 272, a superI/O 273, a firmware hub 274, BIOS support 275 as well as various typesof memory 276 such as ROM 277, Flash 278, and NVRAM 279), a powermanagement interface 261, a clock generator interface 262, an audiointerface 263 (for example, for speakers 294), a TCO interface 264, asystem management bus interface 265, and SPI Flash 266, which caninclude BIOS 268 and boot code 290. The I/O hub controller 250 mayinclude gigabit Ethernet support.

The system, upon power on, may be configured to execute boot code 290for the BIOS 268, as stored within the SPI Flash 266, and thereafterprocesses data under the control of one or more operating systems andapplication software (for example, stored in system memory 240). Anoperating system may be stored in any of a variety of locations andaccessed, for example, according to instructions of the BIOS 268. Asdescribed herein, a device may include fewer or more features than shownin the system of FIG. 2.

Information handling device circuitry, as for example outlined in FIG. 1or FIG. 2, may be used in devices such as tablets, smart phones,personal computer devices generally, and/or other electronic devicessuch as payment kiosks, etc. Users may employ these devices for variousfunctions, e.g., inputting handwriting strokes as an input modality toan Internet search application, an email application, a text messagingor instant messaging application, an e-signature application, fillableforms, etc. For example, the circuitry outlined in FIG. 1 may beimplemented in a tablet or smart phone embodiment, whereas the circuitryoutlined in FIG. 2 may be implemented in a laptop personal computerembodiment. In each case, the device may include an input and displaydevice, e.g., a touch screen or the like, which acts to accepthandwriting strokes and provides visual displays of input characters,converts handwritten characters or strokes to machine text, provides ofan input field overlay for an underlying input field, etc.

As described herein, a lack of an appropriate indicator of cursorlocation (cursor display) is a problem, particularly in the context ofusing an overlay handwriting input application. By way of non-limitingexample, a user may provide handwriting input to an overly handwritinginput application implemented on a touch screen prior to selecting orfocusing the underlying input field (e.g., text input field). That is,the destination for the handwriting input provided to overlayapplication may not be indicated until after the handwriting input isactually received and converted to machine input. As such, the user isnot conventionally aware of the cursor location within the unfocused,underlying field. This may be problematic if there is already(previously entered) text in the field because the user's additionalinput may not be appropriately tailored for insertion in the currentcursor location.

Referring to FIG. 3A a visual example scenario is illustrated. In FIG.3A, a user may be in the midst of providing handwriting input to a touchscreen email application. For example, the user has entered in“abc123@mail.com” for the “To” underlying application field 301 a, hasnot entered any input for the underlying “Cc” field 302 a, has entered“This Weekend” into the “Subject” field 303 a, and in the body ormessage field 304 a has partially composed an email message.

If the user goes to provide further inputs, e.g., addition of anotheremail address in the “To” field 301 a, additional input for the subject303 a or body fields 304 a, etc., the user may not have activated orfocused a particular field. Inactivation of a last active field mayresult, e.g., from the user removing the pen or stylus a predetermineddistance from the touch screen for a predetermined time. If the userdoes not explicitly click within or otherwise activate/focus a field,the underlying application will not display a cursor location for any ofthe fields, as illustrated in FIG. 3A.

An embodiment therefore provides an overlay input application thatdisplays cursor location(s) for the underlying application input fields,as illustrated in FIG. 3B. In the illustrated example, prior to the userfocusing any of 301 b, 302 b, 303 b or 304 b, an embodiment providesoverlay cursors at positions 310 b, 320 b, 330 b and/or 340 b. Againthese may be animated by the overlay application and/or force-displayedby the underlying application. It is noted that while all underlyingfields are presented with overlay cursors in FIG. 3B, this is anillustrative example only and fewer than all may be displayed.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the provision of overlay cursors at positions 310b, 320 b, 330 b, and 340 b apprises the user of where the underlyingemail application will insert text if that particular field is focused.As may be appreciated from this example, the cursor location within theunderlying field may not be what the user expects. For example, in field302 b, since there is no text, a user may well be aware that the cursoris left justified. In contrast, however, the user may not know that thelast active position for the cursor of field 301 b is mid-text, i.e., atposition 310 b, and likewise may not have noticed that the user left thecursor in field 304 b at the beginning of the text, i.e., at position340 b.

Accordingly, an embodiment provides an overlay cursor for use inconnection with a handwriting input application. By way of example, andreferring to FIG. 4, an embodiment displays at 410, e.g., on a displaydevice such as a touch screen, an underlying application. That is, thedisplayed underlying application includes fields to which the user mayprovide input (e.g., email application, web document, PDF type document,etc.).

An embodiment also provides at 420 an overlay handwriting inputapplication, e.g., that converts handwriting input into machine inputfor the underlying application. This overlay handwriting inputapplication allows for the input of handwriting strokes, by way ofexample, that are converted to another format, e.g., usable by theunderlying application as input. As described herein, a user may providethe handwriting input prior to selecting any particular underlying inputfield or may switch the underlying input field into which the convertedhandwriting input is placed using the overlay handwriting inputapplication.

Therefore, an embodiment detects at 430 if there is no cursor displayedfor one or more of the underlying input fields of the underlyingapplication. For example, an embodiment may detect at 430 that one ormore unfocused input fields is/are provided by the underlyingapplication. The unfocused input field may be the only input field ormay be one of many input fields. An unfocused input field may bedetected while an active input field is also detected.

Thus, an embodiment may detect that input field(s) are present in theunderlying application but no cursor position is active for those inputfield(s). An embodiment therefore may determine at 430 that one or moreinput fields lack a cursor display. As there are one or more inputfields to which a user's handwriting input might be directed, yet nocurrent cursor position is displayed by the underlying application forthose input fields, an embodiment provides an overlay cursorrepresenting the cursor location(s) at 440. Of course, for an activatedfield, the cursor may already be displayed.

Providing an overlay cursor conveniently notifies the user of where thehandwriting input will be placed upon entry into a given underlyinginput field. This assists the user by providing a visual indication ofthe current cursor location for input field(s) such that the user mayappropriately tailor the handwriting input.

In an embodiment, a cursor position is obtained from the underlyingapplication with respect to the at least one input field lacking adisplayed cursor. In this case, the overlay cursor may be animated bythe overlay handwriting input application. That is, the overlayhandwriting input application may provide the overlay cursor at 440 byindependently creating a visual cursor and outputting this data fordisplay. As the overlay application is generating the overlay cursor inthis case, the overlay cursor may be chosen as visually distinguishablefrom a standard cursor visual display of the underlying application.This may prove useful, e.g., in the instance where multiple overlaycursors are to be provided. For example, the at least one input fieldhaving no cursor location visually indicated may in fact include aplurality of input fields having no cursor locations indicated. In thiscase, a plurality of overlay cursors of different visual appearance maybe provided. At least one of the plurality of overlay cursors may bevisually distinguishable from a standard cursor visual display of theunderlying application. This may be employed, for example, in a casewhere the underlying application is displaying a cursor for an activeinput field, but the user wishes to view other cursor locations forinactive input fields.

In an embodiment, providing an overlay cursor representing the cursorlocation at 440 may include instructing the underlying application todisplay a cursor location. For example, the instructing may includemodifying a field control of the underlying application, e.g.,indicating the inactive input field is active prior to activating inputbeing received therewith. In this case, the displayed cursor willnaturally be produced by the underlying application, which dictates itsappearance.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the variousembodiments represent technical improvements to the way in which inputfields are visually rendered. Embodiments make it possible for the userto keep track of cursor location(s) for input fields, even while usingan overlay handwriting input application. Among other things, thisassists the user in forming handwriting inputs that are customized tothe insertion points within the input fields.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, various aspects may beembodied as a system, method or device program product. Accordingly,aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or anembodiment including software that may all generally be referred toherein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects maytake the form of a device program product embodied in one or more devicereadable medium(s) having device readable program code embodiedtherewith.

It should be noted that the various functions described herein may beimplemented using instructions that are executed by a processor andstored on a device readable storage medium, referred to herein as anon-signal storage device. A non-signal storage device may be, forexample, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combinationof the foregoing. More specific examples of a storage medium wouldinclude the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a non-signal storage deviceis not a signal, is non-transitory, and “non-transitory” includes allmedia except signal media.

Program code for carrying out operations may be written in anycombination of one or more programming languages. The program code mayexecute entirely on a single device, partly on a single device, as astand-alone software package, partly on single device and partly onanother device, or entirely on the other device. In some cases, thedevices may be connected through any type of connection or network,including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), orthe connection may be made through other devices (for example, throughthe Internet using an Internet Service Provider), through wirelessconnections, e.g., near-field communication, or through a hard wireconnection, such as over a USB connection.

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the figures,which illustrate example methods, devices and program products accordingto various example embodiments. It will be understood that the actionsand functionality may be implemented at least in part by programinstructions. These program instructions may be provided to a processorof a special purpose information handling device or other programmabledata processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via a processor of the device implement the functions/actsspecified.

It is worth noting that while specific blocks are used in the figures,and a particular ordering of blocks has been illustrated, these arenon-limiting examples. In certain contexts, two or more blocks may becombined, a block may be split into two or more blocks, or certainblocks may be re-ordered or re-organized as appropriate, as the explicitillustrated examples are used only for descriptive purposes and are notto be construed as limiting.

As used herein, the singular “a” and “an” may be construed as includingthe plural “one or more” unless clearly indicated otherwise.

This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain principles and practical application, and to enable others ofordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for variousembodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particularuse contemplated.

Thus, although illustrative example embodiments have been describedherein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to beunderstood that this description is not limiting and that various otherchanges and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in theart without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: providing, on an input anddisplay device, an overlay handwriting input application that provideshandwriting input to an underlying application; identifying cursorposition data, wherein the cursor position data indicates at least oneof: a position of a cursor within an input field of the underlyingapplication and at least one input field of the underlying applicationhaving no underlying application cursor; and providing, on the input anddisplay device, an overlay cursor separate and distinct in appearancefrom the cursor within the underlying application and initiated by andprovided within the overlay handwriting application; wherein, when theposition of a cursor within an input field of the underlying applicationis identified, the overlay cursor indicates an input location wherehandwriting input provided within the overlay handwriting applicationwill be provided within the input field of the underlying applicationand wherein the input location is identified from the cursor positiondata; and wherein, when at least one input field of the underlyingapplication has no underlying application cursor, the overlay cursor isprovided within the at least one input field of the underlyingapplication not having an underlying application cursor and indicatesthat handwriting input provided within the overlay handwritingapplication will be provided within the at least one input field.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising obtaining a cursor location withinthe at least one input field, wherein the cursor is animated by theoverlay handwriting input application.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe cursor is visually distinguishable from a standard cursor visualdisplay of the underlying application.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein: the at least one input field comprises a plurality of inputfields; and the cursor comprises a plurality of cursors.
 5. The methodof claim 4, wherein at least one of the plurality of cursors is visuallydistinguishable from a standard cursor visual display of the underlyingapplication.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one inputfield has no cursor location visually indicated and contains text. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the providing a cursor comprisesinstructing the underlying application to display a cursor.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein said instructing comprises modifying a fieldcontrol of the underlying application.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinsaid field control comprises indicating at least one unfocused inputfield is active.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least oneunfocused input field is a text input field.
 11. An electronic device,comprising: an input and display device; a processor; a memory thatstores instructions executable by the processor to: provide, on theinput and display device, an overlay handwriting input application thatprovides handwriting input to an underlying application; identify cursorposition data, wherein the cursor position data indicates at least oneof: a position of a cursor within an input field of the underlyingapplication and at least one input field of the underlying applicationhaving no underlying application cursor; and provide, on the input anddisplay device, an overlay cursor separate and distinct in appearancefrom the cursor within the underlying application and initiated by andprovided within the overlay handwriting application; wherein, when theposition of a cursor within an input field of the underlying applicationis identified, the overlay cursor indicates an input location wherehandwriting input provided within the overlay handwriting applicationwill be provided within the input field of the underlying applicationand wherein the input location is identified from the cursor positiondata; and wherein, when at least one input field of the underlyingapplication has no underlying application cursor, the overlay cursor isprovided within the at least one input field of the underlyingapplication not having an underlying application cursor and indicatesthat handwriting input provided within the overlay handwritingapplication will be provided within the at least one input field. 12.The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the instructions areexecutable by the processor to obtain a cursor location within the atleast one input field, wherein the cursor is animated by the overlayhandwriting input application.
 13. The electronic device of claim 12,wherein the cursor is visually distinguishable from a standard cursorvisual display of the underlying application.
 14. The electronic deviceof claim 12, wherein: the at least one input field comprises a pluralityof input fields; and the cursor comprises a plurality of cursors. 15.The electronic device of claim 14, wherein at least one of the pluralityof cursors is visually distinguishable from a standard cursor visualdisplay of the underlying application.
 16. The electronic device ofclaim 11, wherein the at least one input field has no cursor locationvisually indicated and contains text.
 17. The electronic device of claim11, wherein to provide a cursor comprises instructing the underlyingapplication to display a cursor.
 18. The electronic device of claim 17,wherein said instructing comprises modifying a field control of theunderlying application.
 19. The electronic device of claim 18, whereinsaid field control comprises indicating at least one unfocused inputfield is active.
 20. A product, comprising: a non-signal storage devicehaving code stored therewith, the code being executable by a processorand comprising: code that provides, on an input and display device, anoverlay handwriting input application that provides handwriting input toan underlying application; code that identifies cursor position data,wherein the cursor position data indicates at least one of: a positionof a cursor within an input field of the underlying application and atleast one input field of the underlying application having no underlyingapplication cursor; and code that provides, on the input and displaydevice, an overlay cursor separate and distinct in appearance from thecursor within the underlying application and initiated by and providedwithin the overlay handwriting application; wherein, when the positionof a cursor within an input field of the underlying application isidentified, the overlay cursor indicates an input location wherehandwriting input provided within the overlay handwriting applicationwill be provided within the input field of the underlying applicationand wherein the input location is identified from the cursor positiondata; and wherein, when at least one input field of the underlyingapplication has no underlying application cursor, the overlay cursor isprovided within the at least one input field of the underlyingapplication not having an underlying application cursor and indicatesthat handwriting input provided within the overlay handwritingapplication will be provided within the at least one input field.